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New nose revealed for girl, 10, mauled by raccoon as a baby as first reconstructive surgery to repair her face hailed a success

Photographs have been released showing Charlotte Ponce's new nose after the 10-year-old who had part of her face chewed off by a raccoon underwent reconstructive surgery last week.

The brave Spring Lake, Michigan, girl spent eight hours in surgery as doctors tried to repair the horrific damage she suffered as a baby, in the first of a series of arduous operations that will take place over the next two years.

Despite not being able to ride her bike or swim, Charlotte had no complaints on Wednesday, as she was discharged from Beaumont Hospital. 'I’m okay and I have a nose,' she told reporters at a news conference.

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Brave girl: Sharon Ponce, left, with her daughter, Charlotte, right sit during a news conference at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan, on Wednesday

'At first it was all puffy. It looked
like a turkey beak and cat nose together but the swelling goes down
every day. Now it looks better.'

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Plastic surgeon Kongkrit Chaiyasate hailed the surgery a success, but insisted Charlotte's peculiar-looking nose was not the finished product.

Last
week, they took tissue with a blood supply from Charlotte's forearm to
create a lining for her nose, folding it over on itself. It was a very delicate procedure to make
sure the repositioned tissue has adequate blood flow.

'I have a nose': Photographs have been released showing Charlotte Ponce's new nose, pictured, after the 10-year-old underwent reconstructive surgery last week

More surgery: Last week's surgery was the first of three operations to repair the damage Charlotte, pictured right, suffered as a baby

'The
first operation I am very pleased with the result and the microsurgery
technique was taken well,' he said. 'I have no concern at all.'

Charlotte will recover for six to eight more weeks before undergoing the next stage, building a solid structure to support the new nose, according to The Detroit News.

It will take at least three more surgeries before the young girl will have a functional nose that matches her face and skin tone.

Then, in what Dr Chaiyasate said was one of the most difficult cases he had undertaken, surgeons will use part of Charlotte's bottom lip to recreate her top lip.

Finally, they will give her a new ear by carving out part of her rib and covering it with skin from her chest plate using microsurgery technique.

'The goal is for a perfect nose, lip and ear,' he said. 'I can’t guarantee it but I can say I will treat her like my child.'

Surgeon: Plastic surgeon Dr Kongkrit Chaiyasate, left with Mrs Ponce and Charlotte, has hailed the surgery a success

Charlotte said she had been up and about since the surgery but was missing playing outside.

'I've been walking around and been
doing stuff on one hand, but I can't go outside,' she said. 'I used to
ride my bike every day, even when it was raining.'

But her adoptive mother Sharon Ponce said she was not perturbed by the bulbous appearance of her new nose.

'She's so used to people looking at her differently that I just think she takes it in stride,' Ms Ponce said.

Charlotte made headlines around the world when she was badly mauled by a pet raccoon that got into her crib 10 years ago.

Before and after: Charlotte was just three-months-old when a raccoon chewed off a part of her face while she was sleeping in her crib

Life-changing: Sharon and Tim Ponce were watching the 11 o'clock news when they learned their great-niece Charlotte had been mauled by a pet raccoon

Injuries: Three-month-old Charlotte was in critical condition in the hospital. The raccoon had chewed away her right ear, her nose and part of her lip and cheekbone

New Family: Charlotte's brother Marshall, right, had been taken from the home and placed in a foster care facility and was then adopted by the Ponces along with Charlotte

She was three-months-old when the animal chewed off her nose, ear and part of her lip.

The newborn baby had been left alone in her home by her 18-year-old mother and 23-year-old father.

The raccoon was thought to have escaped from its cage after a door was left open when food had been dropped in.

They later lost custody of Charlotte and she was adopted by Tim and Sharon Ponce along with her brother who was aged 15 months.

The children are their great-niece and -nephew.

Under the knife: Charlotte underwent the first in a series of reconstructive surgeries on Wednesday

Plans: Charlotte Ponce, whose face was mauled by a pet raccoon a decade ago, with markings on her face made by her surgeon before her first surgery at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak

Operation: Doctors are using skin from her wrist to reconstruct her nose. Future procedures will focus on the Spring Lake girl's lips and ear

Over the years Charlotte underwent six reconstructive surgery operations including having an artificial ear fitted.

But now after friends raised more than $10,000 in Spring Lake, Michigan, she is to undergo a series of operations on her face that is hoped will restore her looks.

Last week's operation was the first in a series of procedures to create a new nose, repair her upper lip and create a new right ear for Charlotte.

Normal life: Since 2002, Charlotte has grown into a high-spirited ten-year-old girl who loves swimming, fishing and riding horses

Smiles: The Ponce's medical insurance will cover the cost of the operations but the cash raised will be used for transport and hotels for the repeated trips to hospital

Loving family: Charlotte Ponce with her father, Tim, at a park in Nunica, Michigan

Preparation: Dr Kongkrit Chaiyasate, right, talks with Tim and Sharon Ponce and son Marshall, before performing surgery on Charlotte at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan

The Ponce's medical insurance will cover
the cost of the operations but the cash raised will be used for
transport and hotels for the repeated trips to hospital.

Sharon had quit her job at a daycare center to look after Charlotte after doctors said she would need full time care.

Vicious: Charlotte was mauled by a pet raccoon, like the one seen here, when the animal got into her crib ten years ago

Charlotte has undergone previous surgery to repair the scars on her face and three years ago had a prosthetic ear fitted.

After it became painful Sharon researched pediatric plastic surgeons and came across Dr Kongkrit Chaiyasate at the Beaumont Hospital's Craniofacial and Cleft Palate Clinic.

He agreed to remove the ear and carry out the new surgery.

Charlotte is happy to have the operations and has been responding to well wishers who donated money by writing a personal thank you note.

She said she is looking forward to being able to eat popsicles.

The first operation was carried out last Wednesday and family members said it had gone well with Charlotte resting.

At a recent fundraising event for Charlotte one of the visitors was the 911 dispatcher who took the frantic call from Charlotte's parents after she had been mauled.

The woman, identified by her first name Sharon, told the Ponces the frantic call was the worst she had even taken.

Mother's love: Sharon Ponce caresses Charlotte before her first surgery on Wednesday